session on the dow. also keep an eye on crude oil down almost 4% on the session. that does it for this edition of "power lunch." >> street sign begins right now. the latest polls have romney looking up, but could that lead the stock market down? it is our hot debate of the day. oil continues its slide. good news, america? maybe not. plus, with home re-fis soaring, who's really seeing the new trickle-down money. and we'll wish a happy birthday to the most successful acronym ever. it is a surprise party. here's the big market story right now. it is oil and it is taking a real tumble. below $90 a barrel, its lowest level since august the 3rd. the rest of the market is

looking pretty flat. let's get straight to the oil trade. >> the action is certainly in the energy markets today, mandy. we are looking at oil prices now near the lows of the session. this 3% to 4% slide that we have seen both in the wti oil market and brent crude market started overnight. there was a great deal of negative sentiment with the china pmi data, eurozone pmi data, concerns about weak demand. add to that the fact that the asian development bank talked about its gdp growth forecast for 2012-2013, reduced those forecasts. there is a great deal of concern about the demand picture. that weak demand is also being seen here in the u.s. with the data we got out of the energy department showing the gasoline demand is down about 2.5% versus where it was a year ago. we're seeing gasoline futures sharply lower. even natural gas which had been on a tear six straight sessions, a huge move up there for natural gas. natural gas is actually the biggest decliner that we have

here in the energy complex. back to you. >> sharon, thank you. let us stay on oil. oil is one of the few things in life that we love to see the price go down on. let's bring in director of market research at tradition energy and a cnbc contributor. addison, we love prices when we go up generally on things we own. is this slide in oil the sign of bad things to come economically? >> i don't know if it is a sign. i think it's reflecting what's really been a preponderance of bad news from all corners of the globe. but this really is not anything new. we know this. this is the fundamentals now starting to reassert themselves after sort of the enthusiasm we had for assets in the run up to qe3. since ben bernanke announced his new round of stimulus on the 13th of september, we're down

11%, almost 12% on wti since then. other commodities are behaving the same way. it appears to mow traders just aren't buying it this time. >> is it because volumes, supplies, are too high or is it because demand is falling? >> there is some tightness in certain areas of the world in the oil markets particularly in asia due to the lower levels of iranian exports that are making their way east. when you look at western europe and just how terribly challenged the economies there are, and you look at u.s. which is clearly oversupplied with oil an shows no sign of that changing, the supply and production figures are not at all supporters for oil prices higher but we still have to think about what's out there in terms of iran and investor enthusiasm for cheaper credit. >> interesting you mentioned iran. we're going to talk about that in a second. but certainly the middle east

tensions, we're up $21 a barrel from where we were in june. numbers specifically. we've broken below $90 a barrel. to what extent was that both a technical and psychological barrier? it opens up much further to the downside? >> it was a very big fundamental or technical number at $90. i think the reason we got down to that $90 level is because of bad possible builds coming out from the numbers that were released at 10:30 and they were bearish. we also have bad economic data coming out from around the world. all bearish on crude oil. had we broke $90, it exasperated itself to the downside. i personally see $86 to $85 as a low for crude oil. what i'm really looking for is to see unlead gas prices at the pump coming off. i haven't seen that just yet. however, unlead gas came off considerably today. >> guys, i want to hit on something else. we had the benghazi attack in

libya. we've seen new violence in egypt. syria is a disaster. we've got now increased tension with the people of iran. the middle east situation is not getting any better. why aren't we seeing oil at -- what's the risk of $125 a barrel oil? >> i think it is a possibility. however, if we're breaking that $90 level, it is an easy short for people to take until we break above 90. i think as soon as it hit that 90 level, they took in that big short. if they break above, they could cover it back. maybe $92, maybe $93. we've got to break the $97, $98. we've tested it many times. haven't succeeded through it, maybe $100 at best. however, the tension in the middle east could amount to something but right now what's really affecting crude oil is bad economic data, oversupply in the u.s. so we've got a mix of decreased demand and increased supply. >> got it. addison, allen, thank you for your thoughts on oil. let's talk more about the

middle east because economic sanctions are starting to really hurt iran. iranian currency is in a free fall, for example. now the people's anger is spilling out on the streets. let's goat michelle caruso-cabrera. we've been watching amazing footage, people on the streets saying we're starving. a woman even climbing on to the car of ahmadinejad. >> the reality, iranian currency has fallen 40% in one week. show this video. this is from tehran's grand ba dar. these are merchants in that bazaar saying shut down your shops. they are angry because their currency has fluctuated so much, it is incredibly difficult to do business. imagine buying inventory at one price level. then a week later a change is so dramatic. we believe riot police went in, stopped this protest. there are photos out there we're trying to authenticate. at the same time shut down long tolerated but illegal money traders on the plaque market. we cannot show you a chart of the iranian currency because the charts we have reflect the official rate which is malarkey.

let's show you a full screen of what's happened to the iranian currency over the last year. january, $1 cost you 10,000 rials. one week later, 35,500 rials. dramatic, dramatic change. this obviously causes a lot of tension and problems within a country. why is this happening? because of sanctions. they cannot sell oil, a. they can't bring in dollars. so the supply of dollars in the country has dropped dramatically. additionally, because of the sanctions, they can't import goods. so imported goods, not only are in short supply, the money to buy them with is also problematic so you got a double whammy on the price. so they're suffering inflation. then if you really want to do something dumb, you do something like ahmadinejad did yesterday. he went on national television and begged people not to exchange the currency. what does any average central banker know? when you go on television an beg people to have confidence in the

currency? what does it mean? that they have no confidence in the currency. >> as for a as the regime and nuclear ambitions are concerned, do the sanctions really squeeze them? is it effective or is it really just the people on streets who are hurting? >> it's both. they've been reduced to barter when it comes to trying to sell their oil and get product and rice and things into the country. it definitely hurts the regime as well. the question is what happens to the people on the street? do they blame the united states and european union because of the sanctions or do they blame -- >> i think they're smarter than that now. that might have worked 30 years ago. you look at the people -- you get a sense, from the little we know, that they want better ties with west but this ruling party at the top, ahmadinejad, and the theocratic rulers. >> i agree generally speaking, i think there's sympathy on the

ground in iran for the west but at the same time, they're proud of their nuclear program as well. >> well thank you for filling us in on that, michelle. let's get a market flash on a big technology name. >> we've been track being the sell-off in shares of hewlett-packard. take a look at a couple tech names moving with it. shares of dell hitting a 3 1/2-year low. of course the management team at hewlett-packard talking about the weakness in europe as well as across its entire consumer business. dell dealing with similar concerns. shares down 4% but down about 60% over the of past five years. t minus seven hours until the first of three presidential debates. a lot of market watchers say the big investors have already priced in an obama re-election but some think tonight might just be a game changer. >> so if romney starts to look up, could that mean stocks go down? we'll have some answers for you next. zagat just gave hertz its top rating in 15 categories, including best overall car rental.

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business has been remained differently and trades as a separate company. >> david greenberg, president of greenberg capital. bertha, i know trades have been wiped off but, another smack at the investor on this. >> a lot of talk about whether they should be. in a sense, this was not a market moving event as we remember with facebook or with the night errant trades. however, a number of folks are saying really it is not like there was no harm, no foul here. in essence, it looks like it may have been an algorithm that put in trades. some 35,000 shares and kept putting them in at a higher price. the price spiking above $58. the decision among the exchanges, including nyse arca,

they all agreed to cancel what they believed were clearly ear reasoness trades to say everything above $47.89 is going to be canceled. some say the moral hazard here is if you write these algorithms that go wild, even if just for a minute in this case, that it doesn't really behoof anyone to make sure that they write better code so that this doesn't happen if they know they can get the trades wiped out. >> algorithms gone wild. sound like a new reality tv show. they're increasingly complicated electronic systems which are running stock trading. they're showing signs of trade. david, you sound a little harsh on this. you tweeted earlier today about these canceled trade. you said a trade is a trade, no do-overs. >> well as a trader of many, many years. you don't back out of a trade, number one. two, you need integrity of the market. i need to know trades stick. i might not have -- i would definitely not have canceled.

on globe x there are situations that happen, you don't cancel trades. >> even if something erroneous is going on. >> the trade went in whether it was a human error, mechanical area. bottom line is they should have just taken it down from the highest of the high of that moment. i think it was -- just a round of -- what was the price again? >> it went up $12 a share in 18 seconds. >> what i would have done is at the high of that moment, that's the high price. >> it was like $58. >> $58's too high. it was $47.82, should have been where trades were taken down to. >> that's exactly what they did. they looked at the high of that moment an took it down. but what some like those over at nanex, this today isn't a marquee name. it happens to be the debut of the stock as the split-off company but it happens all the time in smaller stocks. >> and to that point -- >> it doesn't appear to be much

consequence to perhaps not being very rigorous in the types of coding that you're doing. >> that's an excellent point, bertha. to that point, how do we prevent further electronic mishaps from happening. >> there are always going to be mishaps. today was a slow trading day. there's nothing going on and you are getting this kind of news over this kind of blip. if there's an event that happens in the world and all the trading systems start to kick in -- and there will be problems. question is then what happens. because it is going to cost a tremendous amount of money, to a tremendous amount of people. >> it cost a lot of money and a lot of confidence as well. >> confidence as a trader is everything. period. no questions asked. you need to know that it's there. >> we've got to leave it there. we do have some breaking news on an issue we were just talking about. secretary of state hillary clinton making statements moments ago about the economic crisis in iran. she says the iranian government

is to blame for the currency crash in that country. she is likely referring to the government's nuclear weapons program that has brought on harsh international sanctions. as mandy and michelle talked about, the iranian currency has absolutely collapsed and the situation getting more desperate in tehran. well, here we are less than seven hours away from president obama and mitt romney squaring off in the first of three presidential debates. there's been a lot of talk that the market is already pricing in an obama re-election. in fact, in trade showing betters placing a 70% chance on an obama re-election. but some new polls suggest romney is closing the gap. so what happens to the markets and your money if mitt romney pulls ahead or wins? joining us, art, is a romney win bad for stocks?

art, we're going to get your mike running. is a romney win bad for stocks? >> i think a romney win is great for stocks. at least the psychology will be two things. first, first cal conservati first, fiscal conservative coming in 2013 to help with growth prosper. second thing, who's going to handle the fiscal cliff the fastest. i think if things remain the same, the fiscal cliff will take a lot longer to fix. we'll have to drive off the cliff and step back from it some time next year. two levels of stock appreciation will be assumption that you get better growth in the economy and the fiscal cliff gets fixed quicker. >> that's a very good point. peter wufb's sa peter, you've said the markets will rally if romney gets

elected. >> i think 2013 could be difficult no matter who's elected president. obviously we'll have two different tax structures depending on who's elected so the extent of the difficulty will be determined by who wins the election. but at least right now while we assume that the markets priced in an obama victory i honestly think the market right now has its eyes on earnings over the next four weeks and when the election comes, they're going to deal with that election. we've all talked so much about these fiscal issues but either way, whether for good or bad, they're going to get resolved the first tuesday in november. regardless of who wins. so i think earnings right now are driving things but, yes, i agree with art that at least for the last two months of the year a romney win will lead to a rally in the market. i think an obama win will just continue to focus on what's going to be very difficult third and fourth quarter earnings which could lead us lower. >> it is nice to hear that actually earnings may matter for stock prices. that is a shock of shocks, peter.

>> thank you. be sure to catch tonight's first presidential debate right here on cnbc. the pre-game show, if you will. starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. the debate gets under way at 9:00. let's get a market flash with seema. >> alere reached an agreement with the fda regarding its cardiac test. stock up better than 8% on that news. it is generating iphone like excitement with the super-duper rich. you are about to get the very first look inside the new "it" private plane for the world's wealthiest. bob, these projections... they're... optimistic.

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bigger, faster, cheaper. that is not the motto of street signs. it is the motto of today's private jetmakers and what we are about to show you is just cool. but you got to be really rich to be involved. cnbc's wealth reporter robert frank is live inside the swanky new learjet. show it off to us, robert. >> you either have to be really rich or the wealth reporter for cnbc. this certainly beats jetblue.

i'm sitting inside the learjet 85. it is the latest weapon in the private jet wars. now this plane took years and billions of dollars to develop. it's being flex jet and bombardier. what makes this plane amazing is the materials. it is all made from a special carbon fiber composite which makes it lighter, more fuel efficient and faster and also it allows more people to both stand up, which i can almost do, as well as to fit inside this cabin. normally it fits around eight people which is highly efficient for a lot of companies doing many cities in one day. this aircraft was started with a clean sheet of paper. instead of flight logs, can you now put all your flight information on the ipad. instead of a lot of those busy knobs, they put it all on a giant flat screen. bombardier and flex jet are hoping that this plane can help

them out of one of the worst crises in this industry's history. this plane so far, they've sold more than 40 shares. that's around 1/16 fractional ownership of this plane. the company is also hoping that a new range of products including this card, which i'm going to show you in a second. this is the flex jet atm card. you can basically -- it is $100,000. you load it up with hours. it is very flexible. it is their lowest cost offering. a lot of companies now instead of -- it's not about who has the biggest plane, the most expensive gulfstream. it is about who can fly the smartest and fly with the most value and efficiency. so a huge change in this industry. now the question is when will the private jet business finally recover? we're going to look at that question later on the closing bell. >> the cockpit looks so amazing. it looks like something that was animated, computerized almost like a video game. but i want to ask you, who's

actually buying -- who's ordering it apart from really rich people? where is demand coming from, for example, in the world? >> well, what's interesting is there's been a whole cascade in this business from instead of buying a plane for -- this plane would cost around $17 million to $20 million, people are going toward fractional. the fractional guys are now going toward charter. charter rates are now down to $500 for a charter flight between las vegas and california or even boston to washington. so there's so many private jets in the sky right now, that prices have gotten, i wouldn't say affordable, but certainly competitive with the commercial guys. >> you always get the greatest gigs. from now on, we're always going to send you out on that kind of gig. thank you very much. check out the brand-new inside world section of cnbc.com. you'll find more of robert frank's reporting on all the gadgets, real estate issues, the habits of the rich an famous. insidewealth.cnbc.com. forget snakes on a plane.

we're going to be talking about dangerous loose seats on a plane. sign of an aging airline or something more sinister? we'll have a former airline ceo coming up. by the way, the dow just turned negative related to robert's piece? no. but i just wanted to throw that out there. back after this. those little things still get you. for you, life's about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours.

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this is time for my ferret part of the show -- well, one of many favorites parts of the show. it is "street talk." best buy getting a real pop today. the deal talk is really heating up here, brian. >> good news for me, i guess, since i got this company in my stocks draft. i'm still underwater. a reuters coming out today basically an exclusive report to them that at least four different private equity firms may be sniffing around the company in addition to the founder maybe coming in with his own buyout bid. reuters saying the deal, if it gets done -- that's a big "if" still -- as much as $11 billion. the story did quote one source saying no offer likely to be made before the middle of november. still reuters saying people are sniffing around best buy. another retailer we're watching today, investors are seeing family dollar as a bit of a bargain today and buying up big.

>> the stock is up nearly 4%. quarterly profit rose, sales rose 10.8% year over year. hit by sales of some of the staple items. well, intermune shares posting healthy gains here. >> they shall say thank you, canada, right? because they approved a pulmonary fibrosis drug and they expect the drug to go on sale in canada at the beginning of the year. if you're thinking about investing in this company, the key thing -- u.s. authorities rejected that drug here 2 1/2 years ago. the company keeps doing late stage trials, trying to get a new application to get the drug approved here -- but a canadian boost for intermune.

auto nation revving up, sales coming in pretty strong last month. modest gain. >> not a huge gain. we usually look for bigger gainers on the favorite part of your show, "street talk." but the reason i brought this up, you a though nation is trading at an all-time high. the company was part of republic industries. in 1999 it got spun off. this is a new high for mike jackson and his team at auto nation. sales are up 22% i think in september. cars are moving off the lots. i know you were thinking about getting a car -- bentley, rolls-royce phantom -- >> one of those little smart cars. a little convertible smart car because i live in new york city. you've got to squeeze into teeny little spaces. airline stocks also soaring today. >> yes. and to complete the pun quintfecta -- u.s. airways has a

fancy way of saying how many people are on a plane -- bums on seats. it was 84.4% which begs the question, who's the point for? i don't know who that is. >> i don't know who that point is. but of course lower oil prices today. as we saw a moment ago, down to $80 a barrel. >> the stock doubled year to date. >> airlines are moving higher. another but bad news for bankrupt american airlines. that company now says it has fixed all of those loose seats which caused emergency landings earlier on this week but it is nonetheless another plaque eye for the beleaguered company. joining us, former ceo of continental airlines, gordon bethune. great to have you on the show. what do you think about this? if it was just issues of loose seats this week, that's one thing. but there are a number of things

going on with american airlines right now. it is kind of like compounding, isn't it? >> well, it is. i understand this airplane came out of a major service check so all the seats would have been removed. then when the rugs replaced, reinstalled. it sounds like they were inadvertently not locked in correctly on the track. but i used to be a mechanic so i understand when you have unhappy workers, you have more of these kind of incidents. i'm sure could be related, but it may be just an honest mistake. >> gordon, you think somebody could have purposely loosened this up to purposely embarrass the airline? >> no, no, i really wouldn't believe that. that would be criminal actually. >> three planes? three planes? a week? >> we could speculate. sloppy workmanship, at best. okay? but at the end of the day, i used to fix airplanes a lot faster when i wanted to fix them than when i didn't want to fix them. when you've got an up happy w k workforce you are setting up the

opportunity for these type of mistakes to be made. >> two one legged guys do not make a track star. in other words, american airlines needs to get its own house in order -- or its own plane in order, right? if you'll excuse the pun. >> you're absolutely right, mandy. bankruptcy won't fix your company. you have to get your company to be something people want to buy and people want to work for. that's a challenge i think for american. and they're working at it but they've got a long way to go. >> it is tough in the industry and has been for a long time, gordon. where do you see this industry going? it's been just cost cutting, cost cutting, cost cutting, less service, less service, longer lines. for years. i'm sorry to say this, how low account airline industry go? >> what i think they've done is what the market demands -- people don't want to pay for baggage if they don't have a bag so they're breaking down the menu to give you what you want to buy morals a la carte. actually what you do, you have

software, the cheapest ticket to san francisco and the guy on top or the first page gets the business. that's what people want. so you got to sell what people want to buy and that's what they're trying to do. >> talking about what we buy, are we buying good service these days? i mean you pay a little extra for -- or a lot extra for pretty much everything these day. compared to say 10 or 20 years ago. you've been in this busy for a really long time. considering the price that we pay, are we getting really bad service? >> i think that depends on what airline you're on. they're not all alike. some are better than others. winning the jd power award at continental. you can be a better than your competitor airline for service. we've done it before. i'm sure it is going to happen again. >> we've got to leave it there. gordon, thank you very much for weighing in. so, if you have got your bags packed, ready to leave at a moment's notice if the other guy wins this november, jetblue may

just be your ticket. with the airlines running a promotion on their website. vote in their "election protection" poll and you'll be entered to win a free trip -- yeah, free -- if your candidate should lose. right now the vote is 60%-40% in favor of president obama over mitt romney. jetblue's giving away 2012 seats or 1,006 round trips. you'll obviously have to pay your taxes and fees which as we well know, sometimes can be more in total than the price of the ticket itself by the time you pay maybe $100 at the gate for checking in your bag, plus various other things like a sandwich. >> is that vote for people you don't want to win? because if your candidate loses -- >> if the other guy wins -- if i'm a huge obama supporter, romney wins, i might be eligible to -- >> i think at the end of the day, it is supposed to be fun. >> let me correct you. there is nothing about flying that is fun especially when

you're over 5'0" tall. or $6 6'0". pretty remarkable run in the home builder stocks today, mandy. "wall street journal" article discussing the dampened momentum in the apartment rental market may be partly a function of the rebound that we're seeing in housing demands. that's the silver lining to the story. take a look at some of those home builder stocks moving higher today. >> cool. seema, thank you. we've got a great feel-good story about a guy's amazing second chance in the show. that's coming up next in the show. then we're going to head to texas where we find the world's top money manager swinging from the fence. stick around. which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety. now we need a little bit more...

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cash stash especially if there is a huge tax hike next year. then hewlett-packard sliding to a nine-year low today after cutting its profit forecast. does that make the stock a bargain now? we've got the trade on hewlett coming up. former fed reserve vice chair makes case for why having a ceo in the white house may not be such a good idea. maria look forward and seeing you at the top of the hour from the new york stock exchange. see you then. >> thank you, bill. let's get out to seema mody once again with a market flash. what's happening with amazon? >> shares of amazon selling out of its new kindle paper white, according to tech crunch. amazon has underestimated demand for new ereader and has pushed back the shipping estimates for 3g and non-3g models by four to six weeks. back to you. this is the feel-good story of the week. you might have heard about adam greenberg. he was the chicago cubs outfielder who was hit in his head on his first major league

plate appearance. he was seriously injured. he never made it back to the bigs. that was seven years ago. an online campaign called oneatbat gave greenberg the chance at one more at-bat. the marlins signed him to a one-game deal. greenberg ecstatic says it was all worth it. >> it was magical. the energy that was in the stadium is something that i never experienced in my life and i don't know if i'll ever experience that again. it was just -- everyone that was there i think probably felt the same thing. the applause and just -- you could just feel the genuine support. it was awesome. >> the marlins sold greenberg's number 10 jersey. some of the world's top asset manager and investors

gathered today in texas to excuse the economic landscape and how to navigate it. david faber is on the ground at barefoot ranch. i believe, david, you've got a special guest with you? >> we do indeed. win picking up a little bit. marred my hair. lee partridge is chief investment officer, $17 billion under management. you guys are not just equities long. you're doing a lot of different things in a lot of different asset classes including commodities which approach a 30% position for you. why commodities and have you hear anything in there that gives you pause or perhaps confidence? >> that's right, david. one of the things we recognize that's happening right now is that we're dealing with a number of structural imbalances in the dploebl economy. you look at what central banks are doing right now, accumulating assets that don't have a natural home. that would otherwise have a downward trajectory in prices. as they do that they are issuing more and more currency to

accumulate those assets to they're increasing the monetary base, if you will. we think commodities are attractive for two reasons. one, it is a nice hedge against inflation. if those currencies go down in value, where is the store value going to be? we think commodities are a likely place. other thing we like about commodities from a more positive perspective, if you look at emerging consumers, 83% of the world population lives in emerging markets. one of the number one objectives that they have is to improve the protein content of their diet an live better lives. we think that corn, wheat, soybeans are all natural beneficiaries of those trends and we also think that as they continue to develop their economies and actually expand their credit creation and put more in the consumer's hand, that things like energy and metals, both precious and industrial, will continue to appreciate. >> to the extent that we see economic growth in the world from those emerging economies, how are you getting exposure to them? is this the way through commodities or do you also invest directly?

>> great questions. we think commodities are a great way to play the growing consumer -- >> all commodities? or talking more often about agriculture? >> more often about agriculture. but energy as well. so to the extent that there is an industrial boom in places like india or china, the whole energy complex will continue to appreciate. >> what we've been hearing from china -- >> china is a big question. china's a big question mark. people need to eat. they don't necessarily need to build new factories. >> and they don't necessarily need to consume as much copper. >> we like copper but we're nimble with our copper allocation. not having too much risk allocated to any part of the commodity complex. one these we aren't complicity with is gold. we trity and avoid just lookingt go gold. >> a number of cogent arguments that have been made in some of

the presentations we've heard seem to argue for rates have to go up. they've got to go up. how are you positioned for that? or are you perhaps not a believer in terms of where the treasury's headed in the future? >> david, great question. we think that rates have a long term downward pressure for two reasons. one, the central bank has anchored short term interest rates near 0%. they'll stay on that trade for a long period of time. second thing is they have to keep buying risky assets to keep interest rates low in order for us to not have an even increasing level of deficit. if you think about how we're running our country right now, we have about a 10% deficit when you look at the revenues we're bringing in and expenditures we have. rising interest rates would only exacerbate that problem. all of the policymakers know that, both on the monetary side and fiscal side. >> that's kind of a scary thought when you think about it. you seem to be saying that bernanke or whomever may run the fed in the future is going to be behold ton lower rates not necessarily to help jump-start

the economies as well as make sure we don't get swamped by our budget deficit, if rates went up, our interest payments would escalate dramatically. >> david, that's exactly right. we may not be able to jump-start the economy. perhaps the best we can do is keep it from going into a free fall. that's a reality we're all contending with right now. >> all trying to figure out where we put our money in that scenario. lee, that for your time. lee partridge from salient partners. back to you guys. there is mounting evidence that housing is really starting to turn the corner and the re-fi boom should also mean that more people are fixing up their homes. but is that really happening? we're going to stop in at the corner hardware store to find out. the family owner of one major store is about to tell you whether there is a surge in home improvements. that's next. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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all right. your disaster today, rigel pharmaceuticals offeringer nea 14 million new shares. the problem? they offered them at an 8% discount of closing price. tough day for rigel. >> it is, indeed.

now for some sun sign. sarep sarepta therapeutics is doubling. it's up a whopping 183%. in terms of being a contender for sunshine, it was a home run. talking of home, the home re-fi boom. it's rolling on. a double digit jump last week with homeowners loving those really low record rates, which, by the way, is putting more cash in their pockets. it's also meant to stimulate the economy. that's the whole idea. but are the savings really trickling down to help everyone, like people in construction and home improvement? we have the co-owner of the largest independent hardware store joining us on the cnbc news line. his name is howard miller, president of hartville hardware. how much of your sales have gone up?

>> we've definitely seen an uptick in new home sales. recently i walked through the developments in my area where i live, and ten new homes are being built right now. one of our builders sold three houses last week. we're definitely seeing an uptick in building of new homes. >> what does that mean in terms of your sales? >> well, over the last several years, a lot of our builders from the past before the downturn became remodelers. we saw an uptick in remodeling. now many of them were going back to building houses also. they're busy. we have a hard time finding people for our customers if they want to remodel for kitchens or bathrooms. they're all busy right now. >> howard, it's brian sullivan. sounds like you're saying you have a shortage of workers in northeast ohio. >> yes, we do. >> how do you fix that? >> well, many of the people have

gotten out of the trade of the building trades, and i'm not sure exactly how that will all wash itself out. assuming as there's more demand, people will get back into remodeling and building again. but it just started, so we'll have to see how it plays out. >> in terms of these strengths and weaknesses you're seeing in various sectors of your hardware business, where is the strength really showing, and where do you feel it's lagging bhien inging howard? >> we are probably seeing our biggest strength, our lumber materials division up 41% right now. so that's definitely a strong part of our business. we just moved into this new store, new facility, so it's a little hard to say what areas are maybe lagging. but -- pardon me? >> i didn't mean to cut you off. i was agreeing with you. we found you because i was reading an article about how

you, and i think it was your brother, took a chance. i thought, who are these crazy guys opening up this giant store in northeast ohio at the height of a downturn? you, my friend, have guts. why did you do it? >> well, we are a family business. we have 19 of my family members in this business. 11 actually in the hardware business. we're in this for the long run. we saw what we felt was a good time to do the building. the economy was maybe a little sluggish, interest rates were low, building material prices were low. so we decided it was the right time for us to make the move for the long term. that's why we did it, and we've been very happy so far. >> howard miller, great to have you on cnbc. good luck. i'm sure we'll be calling you again, sir. >> well, thank you. >> we want to call your attention to a few big things on the move. for example, hp trading at a nine-year low after lowering its guidance. netflix is up more than 8% after

positive customer satisfaction survey. i, by the way, am one of those satisfied customers. and oil. we were talking about this earlier on. amazing when you consider all the tensions in the middle east. it is nonetheless about $20 higher than it was back in june. but we have really dropped down recently. we're now below $88 a barrel. one of our guests was saying earlier that $90 was kind of psychological and technical resistance. once we pushed below that, it opened it up to further downside. all right. it is a very special happy birthday to perhaps the world's most successful acronym. here's a hint. we are going to bring cake, and that is the acronym. it's not a good hint, we know. so stay tuned. we'll tell you what it is. >> i'm still in the dark. with the spark cash card from capital one,

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let's solve this. and we end the show with a very special birthday wish. four years ago today the troubled asset relief program was born in a washington office building. it was brought to life to save the lives of many of america's banks. most of the money, america, has been paid back. it certainly seems like a success. >> but look at this. this, by the way, are some of the banks -- >> that's a cake. >> that is a cake. let's take a look at the performance. since t.a.r.p., wells fargo down 6%. jpmorgan chase